Insole.



H. N. SPAULDING.

INSOLE.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 12, 1914.

MW t mm ml y .0 Y M H. N. SPAULDING.

INSOLE.

APPLICATION HLED MAYI2,1914.

1 ,135 ,21 7, Patented Apr. 13, 1915.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

J g- O have invented an Improvement UNITED STATES. PA EnroFnIoE.

SETTS,

L. SPAULDING, ROLAND H. SPAULDING AND HUNTLEY N. SPAULDING, BOTH or omans- IBOTH F BOSTONIMASSACHU- TER, NEW HAMPSHIRE, AND LEON: C. SPAULDING, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

INSOLE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

PatentedlAmr. 13, 1915.

Application filed May 12, 1914. Serial No. 838,164.

To (ZZZ whom it may concern:- Be it known that I, HUNTLEY N. SPAULD- me, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Rochester, in the county of S trafiord and State of New Hampshire, in Insoles,

' of which the following description, inconnection with the accompanying drawings, is' a specification, like characters on the drawings representing like parts.

' This invention relates to an inner sole for boots and shoes, by. means" of which a boot or shoe may be produced which is of superior quality and possesses advantages not present in the highest grade of boots or or like material, said inner'sole being adaptshoes now found on the market, yet which can be made at a materially less cost and at substantiallythe same cost as the inferior grades of boots and shoes. To this end, the boot or shoe, which may be awelted or other make of boot or shoe, is provided with an inner sole of material which is substantially non-stretchable, is firm yet flexible after chemically treated to render the same substantially hard, non-stretchable and noncompressible, and is then treated to render the same flexible or pliable and not 1n ur1- ously affected by moisture or dryness, un-

der conditions of use. Such product will be hereinafter referred to as a flexible, substantially non-stretchable, chemically treated fiber. An inner sole made of this product may be used in a welted shoe o any other kind of shoe, and when used in welted shoe,

it is channeled and provided with a lip extended at an angle thereto within the outer edge of the inner sole and provided with corrugations or crimps to take up the surplus stock, and said corrugated or crimped lip may be reinforced by a layer of canvas or like material.

The particular features of this Invention ,vas layer omitted. Fig.

' Fig. 5,

, chemicall will be pointed out in the claims at the end of this specification:

Figure 1 is a plan of an inner sole embodying this invention. the inner sole shown in Fig. 1 with the can- 3, a detail on an enlarged scale in plan to show the corru gated lip. Fig. 4, a side elevation of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6, a plan of a blank or'plain inner sole from which the channeled irmer sole shown in Fig. 2 is made.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, 6 represents.

an inner sole having the lip c, which is re? mforced by a layer or cover ng (Z of canvas ed to beused in a welted boot or shoe. The inner sole 6 is composed of a material which is substantially non-stretchable and non compressible, is firm yet flexible after long use, does not rot-or deteriorate after long use, does not hard or disintegrate under the influence of moisture and dr ness'under conditions of use, and is pliab e to respond to the movements of the shoe in use, and presents a surface to the foot of the wearer which remains smooth, firm and capable of resisting. friction for a substantially long time. A

material. possessing these properties and characteristics is composed of cotton rags alone or mixed 'with other materials and treated with zinc chloridfor sull y hard furic aci to produce a substantia fiber in which thefibersare bonded together by the partial solution of the fibers by the zinc ch orid or other solvent of cellulose,

which in the case of the zinc chlorid is sub- I Fig. 2, a plan of" a section on the line 5-5, Fig. 3, and i check or crack, curl or become sequently washed out of the fiber after the bonding of the fibers has been effected. The hard fiber thus produced is then chemically treated by calcium chlorid, glycerin or other material to renderthe hard fiber flexible and pliable. This product,. which will be hereinafter referredto as. flexible, substantially non-stretchable, chemically treated fiber, has been used heretofore for packing valves and other uses, but-so far: as I. am

aware, has never been usedas an inner sole in the manufacture of boots and shoes. In

will be described, and may be used in a welted or other makeof shoe.

When an inner sole of the flexible no stretchable chemically treated fiber is to e usedin a welted shoe, an inner sole blank.

' shownin Fig. 6, which is suitable for use in other'kinds of shoes than welted shoes, is cut by dies or is otherwise formed from .a

v Slieet" of the flexible, substantially nonstretchable, chemically treated fiber, and is channeled in the'usual way to form the feather 21 and lip c, which latter is corrugated or crimped preferably transversely, so.

as to take care of the surplus stock in the lip, which is substantially non-compressible, and allow the latter to be given a position substantially at right angles to the under surface of the inner sole. The corrugations or criiups 23, are preferably-made 'wider. at the upper or free edge (if the lip, and taper toward but not to the bottom-orlowerportion of the lip as shown in Fig.4;

The crimped lip 0 may :unhpreferably will be reinforced by a cozeringvl of canvas or like material, which preferably forms part of a layer 25 of ean'vas whieh is cemented to the under surface of the 'inner sole 1) within and outside of the lip c, and the portion of the layer covering the lip is cemented thereto. sponds to the machine, not shown, but such as now commonly used in the manufacture a of reinforced inner soles, and can have its free edge bent inwardly and thereby insure that the reinforced corrugated lip is in, a substantially vertical position with relation to the body portion of the inner sole and in proper position for sewing to the upper of the shoe.

e "r sole of flexible, substantially hable,. chemically treated fiber, is capable of being used in the manufacture of boots" and shoes, with the machines now commonly used, 'and is capable of materially reducing the cost of the higher or medium grades: of shoes," in which leather inner soles have lfi'eretofore been used, and in addition enables: a superior boot or shoe to'be produced -ata' materially less cost.- By reason of the fact thatltheinner sole is non-stretchable or substantially so, the shoes of a given width run. uniform and are of the same width, inasmuchas the nonsstretchable fiber resists the stretching action of the inseam stitches and prevents the shoe being widenedin the processof stitching the upper to the inner. sole, which stretching occurs when the inner 'soleis o-f-leather, as the leather inner soles used-in :the same grade and width of shoes, vary instrength and some are more stretchable thanothers, happens that with thesame grade and width The reinforced lip re-.

so that, it frequently of leather inner soles, the shoes, which are supposed to be of the same width, differ materially in width which is not desired by the manufacturers. Furthermore, when a reinforced leather inner sole is used, it sometimes happens, that when the upper is sewed to the inner sole, the leather of the reinforced inner sole will stretch to such extent as to place all the strain on the'canvas layer. of the reinforced inner sole,'with the result that the latter is split lengthwise of the inner sole, and in these :cases, a defective shoe would result, which is avoided by the operator pulling the shoe to pieces, discarding the inner sole and replacing it with a new one, which not only occasions delay but adds to the cost of manufacture. So also in the higher grades of shoes in which leather inner soles are used, when the leather is of such nature that it is, unable to resist the lateralstrain placed upon it by the machine which se'wsjthe upper and welt to the inner sole, the latter will stretch to such extent as to arch or transversely curve the inner sole and bend the welt. \Vhen this occurs,'the shoe is taken oil of the last and the welt is bent back into shape by hand, and the arch in the inner sole is pressed down in the subsequent processes of manufacture through which the shoe passes, but inasmuch as the leather has been once. stretched, the arch is subsequently restored when tllC-,.Sl10. is worn and a bulge at th'center oftheinner sole is formed, which is highly objectionable to the wearer of the shoe. Furthermore ,by reason-of the fact. that the leather inner free from bulges in the inner sole within the shoe. Another feature of superiority in a,

boot or shoe provided with the flexible non:

boot or shoe provided with a leather inner sole,,is that the boot or shoe provided vvith the chemically treated fiber inner solehasl a stretchable, chemically treated fiber over a smooth,rfirm surface for contact with they, foot for substantially the life of the shoe,

whereas, a boot or shoe provided with a leather inner sole, when wornbya person whose feet perspire freely, soon. become unfit,

to wear, owing to the fact that the leathen inner sole absorbs the moisture from the feet while the shoe is being worn, and when'the f shoe isremoved, the inner solebecomes. dry,

and as this takes place daily," the leather inner sole soon loses its flexibility, becomes which are highly objectionable. shoe provided withthe inner sole of flexible T IlOIl-SQI'GtChablG, chemically treated fiber, is

hard and more or less like bone, and cracks, especially -at the ball portion, and these cracks form rough and frequently sharp edges, which soon make the foot tender and sore, to such extent that the shoes have to be discarded long before they are worn out at the outer sole or upper. Furthermore the leather inner sole curls at the edges and forms hard projections within the shoe A boot or not open to these objections, inasmuch as the chemically treated fiber inner sole is not injuriously affected by moisture and dryness,

- under conditions of use, does not curl, crack or become hard but retains its flexibility, and enables the'boot orshoe to be worn without discomfort by persons whose feet boots or shoes, but also materially improves the same, in that it provides the boot or shoe with an inner sole, which imparts to the sole portion of the shoe a permanent fiexibility, softness, smoothness and firmness of surface for contact with the foot of the wearer, and enables the shoe to be worn with comfort for the life of the shoe, and also insures to the manufacturer uniformity in width and outline of the shoes, durability and reduced cost in the manufacture of the same. 7

Claims:

1. An inner-sole of flexible, substantially non-stretchable chemically treated fiber in which-the fibers of the inner sole are bonded together by a partial solution of the fibers themselves.

2. An inner sole of flexible, substantially non-stretchable and non-compressible chemically treated fiber in which the fibers of the inner sole are bonded together by a partial solution of the fibers themselves, said inner sole having a lip extended at an angle theretowithin the outer edge of the inner sole and provided with corrugations to take care of the surplus material of the substantially non-compressiblehp and enable the inner sole to be used in a welted boot or shoe, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my.

name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

HUN TLEY N. SPAULDING.

Witnesess:

JAs. H. CHURCHILL, MURPHY.-

Copies of this patent may be obtained. foxfive cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

' Washington, D. C. 

